I used to be Britain's longest-running wrestling blogger. Then I got a proper job.

Sunday, 16 September 2007

WBC Muay Thai Time for Deliverance 5 on Sky Sports - TV Review

This past Saturday, February 25th, saw the latest World Boxing Council Muay Thai show, Time for Deliverance 5, at the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, and as I’m starting to get into various forms of combat sports these days, I thought I’d give the show the old Two Sheds Review treatment with a review of Sky Sports coverage, broadcast four days later.

We begin with a fight in the 57 kilo category, with Saab Singh facing Ranjit Dia. Although both fighters seemed evenly matched, it was clear from the outset that Dia was the superior man, controlling the action from the start. Dia knocked Sing down after a kick in the first round, and opened up a cut on the top of his head with an elbow in the second. Dia controlled the majority of the remaining three rounds with good clinches and combinations, and it seemed that the only way Singh could get back into the fight was by using the clinch himself. By the time of the fifth and final round, both guys looked visibly tired, but it was enough to stop Dia from continuing his dominating performance, and it certainly wasn’t a surprise when the judges award him the decision and the victory.

Women’s action next, as Rebecca Donnelly faces Italy’s Sonia Mirabelli for the WBC Preliminary Featherweight title. Having recently watched a women’s boxing match that far outshone their male counterparts on the card, I was eager to see if this bout could do the same. Hopes were high for the home town girl before the fight, but from the beginning the Italian visitor showed her class. Donnelly tried her best, but Mirabelli was always able to counter any of her attacks, getting knocked down in the second, and taking a kick to the throat as well. Donnelly simply had no answer to Mirabelli’s superior technical skills and tactics, and although Donnelly put in a brave effort, it simply wasn’t enough as Mirabelli took the judge’s decision and vacant title.

The third fight sees British Champion Michael Wakeling face Belgium’s Lahcen Ait-Oussakour, who actually took this fight at three day’s notice. Despite the fact that they weren’t able to do much research about each other, these two put on a pretty good fight. Wakeling seemed to use this fight to try and different stances and styles, although none of these helped him whenever Lahcen through his hard right handed punch, and by the end of the fifth and final round, it seemed too close to call, with Wakeling winning the points decision.

More women’s action, as Nicki Carter takes on Belarus’ Elena Kuchinskaya for the WBC World Preliminary Super-Featherweight title. A quick one here. Carter connected with a really hard kick to Elena’s nose in the opening moments, which opened up a severe cut on the bridge of the noise. The referee brought in the doctor, who ordered that Elena could no longer continue, meaning that Carter had won the fight and the title via TKO.

Main event time, as Steve Wakeling defends his WBC World Middleweight title against Thailand’s Lamsongkram. This was certainly an interesting fight. With his superior skills and technical ability, Lamsongkram totally dominated Wakeling from the start of the first round to then end of the fifth. No matter what Wakeling did, he just had no answer to the Thai fighter’s ongoing attack, and Lamsongkram’s dominance was such that the judges award him the match and the title by a unanimous decision.

In conclusion - with the WBC, the world’s premier professional boxing governing body, taking a keen interest in the world of muay thai boxing, it just shows how much the sport has developed over the years, and as the first show taster of what this sport is all about, all I can say is that I was really impressed. Each fight was good in it’s own particular way, and I will definitely try to catch more muay thai action in the future. Good stuff here.

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